Grief or patience?
There is a huge transformation taking place. Turkey's domestic matters and international crises are intertwined.

As one problem is being resolved, another is erupting. Unless you have a comprehensive roadmap and action plan, you would be trapped by hopelessness.

Of course, Turkey's most immediate problem is the Kurdish issue. Every second the problem remains unresolved makes the issue more complicated and turns it into a global dilemma. This also applies to the Syrian crisis. As time goes by, the risk of taking unplanned action and unwise decisions increases.Reconciliation or war?

Making it possible to eventually remove [Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)] members from Parliament by stripping them of their immunity, forcing them to take action within democracy, disabling the hand that holds a gun or blocking the path that resorts to weapons. There are many others questions that have no single or simple answer. Maybe we need a coordinated strategy. Negotiations within the framework of fundamental rights and freedoms should be held and the agents of global terrorism in our lands should also be destroyed at the same time. Regardless of the method you employ, there is one thing that should always be noted: that the rule of law should always be observed and combating terrorism should be executed without compromising democratic rights.Those who want to undermine Turkey's power seek to manipulate its reaction through provocation. Those who burn schools, who kill and intimidate others through terrorism, expend efforts to test the patience of the people because they are aware that grief will eventually take the place of patience. There will be those who take unconstructive paths out of grief, those who riot and who commit mistakes out of grief.

However, this country needs wise policies that will be realized by patience and long-lasting roadmaps. It is impossible for those who react rashly to consider the consequences of their actions.

We don't know how to think with models. It is necessary to think about how a miniscule and seemingly insignificant issue could become a huge problem within two decades or what a seemingly important development could portend in the future. Most of the time, we forget how a stone tossed into a lake generates waves that reach its shores. An event that could be used as a metaphor for this ripple effect should be evaluated through models. However, "conceptualizers" who are exhausted from dealing with daily events and considerations are unable to make comprehensive plans for the future.

The Middle East is trembling with change; many states have already been altered in the region. It seems difficult that joy and grief make it to nightfall; these emotions change as constantly as the situation. It is time for models based on patterns seen in history, the natural course of the future and a closer look at the events.

It is necessary to force Turkey to navigate the horizon for the issues it is dealing with by removing the popular components. For instance, it would be wrong to only consider the positive or negative results over the short term of taking the BDP deputies out of Parliament. It is essential to employ a multidimensional perspective and pluralistic platform of thinking.We need model thinking not only in politics but also in all other fields. A number of issues including the actions and policies in the fields of education, urbanization and others should be re-evaluated and reconsidered. For instance, urban transformation is a popular issue. However, it needs to be analyzed properly, and the logic or urbanization should be redesigned within the philosophy of civilization without being strongly affected by the fear of an earthquake. For instance, it is also essential to think about what would happen if you shut down extracurricular college prep institutions. What kind of problem will the families, students and schools deal with in Turkey in such a case? It is our obligation to plan our future and restructure the Higher Education Board (YÖK) for a better educational environment.

Turkey is experiencing a huge transformation. While taking new steps, it is also essential to administer the process wisely. The human resources and capital of this country are sufficient to manage the problems properly. Turkey could make huge achievements unless society wastes its internal dynamism on useless matters. When you do not take steps with patience, grief will be the eventual outcome; but God forbid, this country has no strength to bear new disappointments.________________________________________

Uludere incident will reappear on the agendaIt has been almost a year since the Uludere incident. On Dec. 28, a Turkish military jet dropped a bomb over a group of people killing 28 out of suspicion that they were terrorists. However, it became evident that these people were not members of a terrorist organization and that they were not attempting to cross the border with arms. It was argued that the people killed in this incident were smugglers who were transporting gasoline and cigarettes from Iraq to Turkey. This was a horrible incident. It appears that this issue will become a matter of discussion in the coming days on its anniversary. It is possible that the Kurdish issue will becomes more complicated in the light of this incident. Unfortunately, strong language and discourse do not offer any lasting solutions to the problem. Nonetheless, the truth is that failure to do things properly makes the issue more complex.In fact, it is not proper to say that or act as if that nothing has been done regarding the Uludere incident. It is known that the general staff has initiated an administrative and judicial inquiry and that the specially authorized prosecutor in Diyarbakır has started the investigation. Political figures including Prime Minister Erdoğan have since the beginning admitted that the bombing was a mistake. For this reason, the state has paid compensations to the relatives of the victims. A state that has paid compensation has acknowledged the mistake. Offering an apology and admitting the mistake does not undermine the image of the state. Ignoring what has been done so far appears to be an attempt to make the incident part of domestic political discussions.

However, despite the steps taken in the Uludere matter, there are two major groups of critics: the first group includes people who exploit this incident and the mistake made for the attainment of their political goals regardless of what the government does to address the problem. The voice of the other group should be heard as well, though. The processes of inquiry and investigation in relation to the error perpetrated in Uludere should be completed as soon possible. As long as this process is protracted, the manipulators raise their voices to influence the people. The mystery behind the incident should be resolved immediately so that speculative comments can be prevented.As the anniversary of the Uludere incident approaches, Ayhan Sefer Üstün from the parliamentary commission of inquiry made an interesting statement in which he argued that the decision of confidentiality prevents us from taking further steps. This has already produced interesting results. The commission chair makes these remarks out of sincerity. This creates opportunity for those who attempt to manipulate the matter, though. It is necessary to take constructive and conclusive steps with regard to the Uludere incident which will apparently be discussed in the days to come. It is also necessary to rely on a more transparent mode of communication and to accelerate the process in order to prevent destructive comments. Besides, it is not only a matter of negative remarks; the people also want to see this problem resolved. The belief that justice has been delivered will consolidate brotherhood in this country. EKREM DUMANLI (Cihan/Today's Zaman)